30 August 2010

All in all, everyone has made me feel very welcome. My agent has done what he can to make sure I know what I need to do and how to act. My co-teacher has gone above and beyond to help me and make me feel very welcome. When I arrived, she had a bible verse that she felt pertained to my new life. Yesterday she took me to the English service of her church. Actually, the guy who gave the sermon is Korean-Canadian from outside Vancouver, so I guess I've met one foreigner. There were about 7 or 8 people in the English service. There are, I think, 5 services on Sunday. We had lunch there before the service. She is very hopeful that I go with her every Sunday and was disappointed that I might be going to Mapo-gu for the Mennonite church. Her husband told me that it might take 2 hours to get there! She then showed me another bible verse concerning the difference between God's and our own plans. We'll see what happens. After church, they took me to E-Mart, a mega store which sells just about everything. I've include a picture of their super-cool escalaors. She and her husband walked around with me up and down and up and down looking for items on my list. Then they took me back to their apartment so they could give me an ironing board. They then treated me to dinner at and American-style restaurant: steak, ribs, salad bar. All in all, she has bought me dinner, towels, plates, mugs, chocolate, a bed roll, kleenex, coffee, jam and toilet paper. I think I am very lucky/blessed in my teaching partner.

Today, I go to my school for the first time to meet the principal and students. My agent has told me at least 5 times to dress nice and make a good impression. I'll then go to the hospital to get a health check, which is the first step toward getting an id.

The picture on the right is for Beng, who asked me for 'about 60 street views' so he can see what the city is like. This is a shot just outside the church.